


Groundhog Fae

by scornedmedea



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Declarations Of Love, First Kiss, Happy Ending, House Party, Light Angst, M/M, Time Loop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:15:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23516035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scornedmedea/pseuds/scornedmedea
Summary: After uniting the supernatural world to stop the apocalypse, the Hale pack throws a celebratory party that, much to Derek's dismay, will just not end.
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Comments: 10
Kudos: 213





	Groundhog Fae

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the Groundhog Fae episode of Lost Girl.

“Hey! No fair!” someone shouted as a weretiger darted from the back of the newly rebuilt Hale house and disappeared into the woods. 

Derek shook his head at them and grabbed the bags of ice out of the back seat. He was proud of his pack for coming together with so many others to best an angry god and save the world, but he wasn’t exactly stoked about the celebration that followed. He had volunteered to make an unnecessary ice run to get a few minutes away from the overwhelming number of people inside the house, but it turned out to be an incredibly short reprieve. 

He made his way up the steps and let himself into the house. There were hundreds of floating lights changing colors with the beat of the pop music that seemed to be blasting from every location at once. The living room was full of people dancing, including a small dragon circling in the air, its iridescent scales reflecting the multicolored lights around the room like a disco ball. 

In the hallway, Jackson helped an ogre funnel a beer as two succubi and a nymph cheered. Derek pressed himself up against the wall and tried to get past without bumping into anyone. He looked up as the ogre dropped the funnel’s hose and let out a belch that rang out over the music. The entire living room cheered in response. Derek gagged at the smell and continued into the kitchen. 

“Come on, Derek!” Lydia grabbed the ice from him and started emptying it into the giant tubs on the floor. “We literally stopped the apocalypse, made a ton of allies, and no one died. Loosen up a little and have some fun.”

“Someone has to be the adult,” he replied.

“You mean someone has to be ready for the next threat.” She cocked an eyebrow at him.

Derek pursed his lips but didn’t respond.

She placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled disarmingly. “You’re right. Something else is going to come. It always does. And that’s exactly why you need to enjoy tonight. We won. And look at all of the allies we have the next time something happens.” She gestured towards the living room and then the backyard.

“It’s going to take forever for this place to smell like pack again with all of these people here.”

Lydia rolled her eyes. “There’s a family of brownies coming in the morning to clean up. And, one of the witches gave Isaac a candle that we could burn once everyone leaves. It’ll clear out any olfactory or psychic traces that anyone else was here. So any more objections?”

Derek looked at her sternly. 

“That’s what I thought. Now go enjoy yourself,” she said, pushing him out of the kitchen. “And don’t you dare disappear upstairs!”

Derek grumbled under his breath, well aware that she couldn’t hear it over the music. 

Deciding that dancing was not how he was going to embarrass himself that night, he opted for heading outside to the back yard. The patio was set up with floating, soft blue lights that illuminated the drink coolers and tables full of food. At the end of one table, was a giant triskelion made of ice that didn’t seem to be melting under the August heat. 

“The frost giants made that,” Isaac said, sidling up next to him. “To honor the Hale pack,” he added seriously, body going rigid in mock salute.

Derek nodded. “We need to remember to thank them.”

“Boyd already did. Right before he, Scott, and Kira kicked their asses at tug-of-war.”

A small smile tugged at Derek’s lips. “Tug-of-war? Really?”

“Really,” Isaac laughed. “The whole side yard has basically turned into a supernatural field day. A bunch of the werewolves and chupacabra are playing frisbee with a girl with eight arms. The sylphs are seeing who can keep the gnomes flying the longest. There’s a three legged race later, that Allison and I plan on winning. Oh, the yuki-onna is making snow cones for everyone, and that cheruffe couple are grilling.” 

“I’m not sure a party like this has ever happened. So many different kinds of supernaturals together to celebrate,” Derek said. “It’s a little weird.”

“You guys didn’t have supernatural blowouts when you were a kid?” Isaac asked.

“We did, but it was only ever werewolves and other shifters. And it was pretty much exclusive to those living in northern California.”

“Well, we need to do this like twice a year at least.”

“At least,” Derek mumbled. “Where are Erica and Stiles? I haven’t seen either of them.”

“Erica was partying with the maenads in the living room the last time I saw her. I don’t think I’ve bumped into Stiles since people started showing up.”

“That’s never a good sign,” Derek grumbled.

Isaac shrugged. “You can just say you want to see him. You don’t have to make it sound like he’s in trouble.”

“It’s Stiles,” Derek argued. “He is most likely in trouble.”

“True,” Isaac agreed. “But you can still just say you want to see him.” He flashed a grin at Derek before skipping off the porch and heading around the back of the house. 

Derek turned and walked back inside. He made it to the hallway before there was a loud crash. He sprinted the rest of the way to find a hole in the ceiling with the bottom half of a dwarf sticking out. 

“What the--” Derek was cut off by the second crash resulting from an ogre and a troll deciding to help by yanking the dwarf the rest of the way through the ceiling by his feet. The hole in the ceiling began to grow bigger as the edges crumbled, until eventually a bed also fell through, crashing into the middle of the dance floor. The crowd screamed, joined hands, and then danced around the bed in a circle while two witches climbed on top and started making out. 

“Hey! No fair!” someone shouted as a weretiger darted from the back of the Hale house and disappeared into the woods. 

Derek shook his head at them and grabbed the bags of ice out of the back seat. He headed inside and stopped in the living room. There were hundreds of multi-colored, floating lights being reflected around the room by a small dragon circling in the air. A mass of people danced wildly underneath. 

Derek headed toward the kitchen, trying to flatten himself against the wall to pass by an ogre that Jackson was helping funnel a beer. Two succubi and a nymph cheered loudly as he finished. Derek had almost made it through when the ogre belched so loudly it drowned out the music for a moment. The living room crowd responded with a loud cheer. 

“Come on, Derek!” Lydia pulled him the rest of the way into the kitchen, grabbed the ice from him, and started emptying it into the giant tubs on the floor. “We literally stopped the apocalypse, made a ton of allies, and no one died. Loosen up a little and have some fun.”

Derek looked around, confusion knitting his eyebrows together.

“Jesus, Derek. You’d think I just asked you to roll in glass.” Lydia looked up at him. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Derek said slowly. “I’m just having a really bad case of deja vu.”

“Then do something you wouldn’t normally do. Like have some fun.” She nudged him out of the kitchen. “And don’t you dare disappear upstairs.”

Derek shook his head, trying to clear the uncomfortable feeling from his head. Deciding dancing was not how he wanted to embarrass himself, he opted for checking out what everyone was doing outside. 

He walked out the backdoor into the dim blue light shining on the deck. There was a giant triskelion made of ice on one of the tables that Derek couldn’t look away from.

“The frost giants made that,” Isaac said, sidling up next to him. “To honor the Hale pack,” he added seriously, a mock salute hardening his posture.

Derek pursed his lips. “We need to remember to thank them,” he said absently. 

“Boyd already did. Right before he, Scott, and Kira kicked their asses at --”

“Tug-of-war,” Derek interjected quietly.

“Yeah,” Isaac laughed. “Did you see it? Don’t tell Scott, but my money was actually on the frost giants.”

Derek turned wordlessly and wandered back inside. “What’s going on?” he muttered to himself.

Hearing cheering coming from the kitchen, Derek made a turn in the hall to investigate. 

Stiles was standing on the counter, pink-cheeked, chugging tequila from a bottle. When the bottle was empty, he slammed it down on the counter angrily. Seeing Derek, he hopped off the counter and staggered over to him. Derek could smell the anger and frustration radiating from him.

“Sti--” Derek started.

“Fuck it.” Stiles grabbed Derek and slammed their mouths together. 

Without stopping to think about it, Derek wound his hand through Stiles hair and pulled him into a deeper kiss. 

When Stiles pulled away, everyone in the kitchen started cheering.

“You kissed me back,” Stiles said.

“You kissed me first,” Derek replied dumbly. 

“Of course you kissed me back,” Stiles said angrily. 

Derek raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Stiles rolled his eyes. “Perfect, goddamned perfect.” He grabbed another liquor bottle off of the counter and took a swig. 

Derek jerked the bottle out of Stiles’s hands. “You kissed me! And you’re going to give yourself alcohol poisoning if you don’t slow down.”

Stiles reached into one of the bins on the floor and grabbed a beer. “Whatever. I’ll be sober again in a few minutes anyway.”

“What are you talking about? And why are we fighting, anyway?” Derek yelled.

“Doesn’t matter.” A crash came from the living room. “You won’t even remember in three.” Two successive crashes from the living room. “Two…”

“What are you talking--”

“One,” Stiles said.

“Hey! No fair!” someone shouted as a weretiger darted from the back of the Hale house and disappeared into the woods. 

Derek ran into the house, swatting the floating lights out of his face. He stopped abruptly in the living room, looking around frantically. 

“Derek, is everything okay?” Erica asked as she appeared from the crowd of dancers and gently grabbed his arm.

“This has happened before.” 

She stared into his eyes, face turned up in concern. “What do you mean?”

“This. This whole party. We’ve lived through it before.” He leaned over and looked towards Jackson, funneling beer into an ogre. 

“Derek,” Erica said. “Maybe you should sit down for a minute.

“No, I’m serious. That ogre is about burp.”

Right on cue, the room was filled with a belch that overpowered the music. 

“He just funneled a beer. And he’s an ogre. Of course he was going to do that.”

Derek shook his head hard. “No, no. Stiles!” he yelled. “Where is Stiles?”

“He was upstairs the last time I saw him,” She answered. “Are you sure you’re okay? I haven’t had that much to drink. If you want, we can get you somewhere quieter.”

Derek ignored her and headed upstairs. 

When he reached the top of the stairs, he was met by two dwarves who were arguing about the construction quality of the house. They both proceeded into Erica’s room. Catching a whiff of Stiles down the hall, Derek ignored them and sped into Isaac’s room.

Stiles was sitting at the foot of the bed, with his hands on his face. His shoulders shook as he cried into his palms.

“Stiles!” Derek yelled as he burst into the room.

Stiles jumped to his feet, clearly startled. “What… what are you doing up here?”

“Something’s wrong!” Derek took a step toward him. 

“You’re not supposed to be up here. You should be handing the ice over to Lydia right now.”

Derek’s stopped abruptly, and his mouth dropped open.

“You’re doing something different!” Stiles shouted excitedly.

“It’s happening to you too?” Derek shouted.

Stiles nodded. “Oh, shit,” he said, frown forming on his face.

“What?” 

“Then you remember.” Stiles plopped back down on the bed and stared quietly at the floor.

Derek watched him for a moment before joining him on the bed. They sat there in silence, knees touching. 

With a sharp inhale, Derek asked, “Did you kiss me because you wanted to or because you were frustrated, and I wouldn’t remember?”

“Yes,” Stiles mumbled.

“Stiles, that was not a yes or no question,” Derek said softly.

“I kissed you because I wanted to, I was frustrated, and you wouldn’t remember,” he replied timidly. 

The silence returned, filling the room with a heavy tension.

“Look,” Stiles said. “I’ve wanted to kiss you for a really long time, but I’ve managed to be normal up until that moment. This whole being stuck alone in a time loop thing kinda pushed me over the edge.” His words were gaining speed, spilling out of his mouth. “I get it, and I know you’re totally out of my league. No one else is going to remember anyway, so we can just pretend like it never--”

Derek grabbed his jaw and gently pulled Stiles’s mouth to his own. Stiles's lips were warm against his own. He slowly pushed his tongue through the part in Stiles’s lips, brushing up against his teeth. Stiles brought his hand up, running it through Derek’s hair.

After several minutes, Stiles pulled away, panting with his eyes still closed. 

“I’ve wanted to do that for a long time, too,” Derek said quietly. He rested his forehead against Stiles’s. 

“We could have been doing this the whole time?” Stiles asked loudly. 

Derek murmured in agreement and pressed a quick kiss to Stiles’s lips. “We need to figure out what’s going on though.”

“I can feel the magic that’s doing it. It’s like every time it resets, I can feel it brush against my spark.”

“So it’s got to be one of the witches then, right?” Derek asked.

“No, whatever’s causing it isn’t using human magic. But the good news is that the time before this one, it started getting weaker. I think that’s when you started noticing.” Stiles leaned back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.

Derek lifted himself from the bed. “We should go see if Lydia can help.”

“There’s no point,” Stiles replied, grabbing Derek’s hand and pulling him back down on the bed. “By the time she believes me, time resets. I’ve tried telling her six times.” His eyes dropped to the floor dejectedly.

“What about calling Deaton?” 

“He doesn’t answer in time.”

Derek watched Stiles deflate and felt his own heart drop. “Stiles,” he said, placing his hand on Stiles’s thigh. “How many times have you been through this?”

Stiles looked up at him solemnly. “Somewhere between twenty-four and thirty.”

Derek’s eyes went wide.

“I lost count.” Stiles shrugged.

Derek paused solemnly. “How many of those times did you tell me, and I didn’t believe you?”

Stiles dropped his gaze back to the floor.

Derek cupped Stiles’s cheek in his hand softly. “Stiles, I am so sorry.”

A watery smile appeared on his face. “It’s okay. I would have thought you were messing with me, too.”

A loud crash came from the next room.

“Look,” Stiles said, suddenly serious. “This is fine. I thought I was losing my mind, and I can’t handle that. Not again. But you’re here, I’m not alone or crazy, and I can work with that.”

Two successive crashes came from downstairs. 

“I’ll meet you downstairs, okay?” Stiles asked.

Derek squeezed his hand. “O—”

“Hey! No fair!” someone shouted as a weretiger darted from the back of the Hale house and disappeared into the woods. 

Derek leapt out of the car, and ran toward the front door. 

Stiles burst through the door, grabbing Derek by the arm. “I have an idea! I know how to fix this!”

Derek raised his eyebrows in a way he knew Stiles would interpret as a question mark. 

“It’s getting progressively weaker with each reset. I’m not positive on the rules, because it’s not human magic, but time loop spells are only difficult if you’re inside the time loop. On the outside, you set the spell, and just keep it running. Inside, though, you have to recast the spell at every reset because the caster and the spell are both technically affected by the loop. Originally, whoever is responsible would have had to have been close enough to affect the house, but far enough away to stay outside of its influence. But, I think for some reason, they came inside the loop a few resets ago.”

“So all we have to do is find someone who wasn’t here originally?” Derek asked. “There’s way too many people for us to check before things reset.

“That’s the hard way. I’m opting for the easy way.” Stiles reached over to a set of windchimes hanging on the corner of the porch, and spun the metal circle dangling down in the center. A net of faint white light began to weave itself together in the woods around the house. “We trap them in here with us. Enough resets, and they’ll be too weak to cloak their magic. Then I can track them down, and you can...” Stiles raised his hands and imitated scratching with claws.

“Then we just wait for now?”

Stiles shot him a grin that made him nervous. “I mean, we’re trapped in an eternal party. We could at least enjoy it.”

“I didn’t want to enjoy the party when I thought it was ending soon. Why would I want to enjoy it over and over again.”

“Because you’d get to enjoy it with me.” Stiles grabbed his hand.

Derek stifled a grin.

“I saw that!” Stiles squeezed his hand. “You totally want to Bonnie and Clyde this party with me. Just Thelma and Louise this bitch.”

“You do know how both of those end, right?” Derek rolled his eyes and smiled.

“Derek.” Stiles moved in close, their chests touching lightly whenever they inhaled. “Aren’t you tired of being nice? Don’t you wanna go apeshit?”

“What did you have in mind?” Derek asked, trying not to give away that Stiles being so close had his heart hammering in his chest.

“Do you trust me?” Stiles asked, devilish grin returning.

“With my life, yes. At a party, absolutely not,” Derek chuckled.

“Too bad,” Stiles said, planting a quick kiss on Derek’s cheek before dragging him into the house.

"Stiles, I can't dance," Derek whined as he was pulled towards the dancing crowd.

"You'll be fine!" Stiles reassured him. " Just keep your body up against mine and move with the music. He flashed Derek a smile and a wink before he started swaying to the music.

Derek stood motionless watching Stiles for a few seconds. “Stiles, you can’t dance either.”

“I know,” Stiles replied. “Skill is unimportant on a dance floor. Fun is the only thing that matters. So relax and dance with me.”

Derek moved closer and began swaying to the music. 

“Dude, please relax your face. You look like you’re about to murder someone.”

“I’m focusing,” Derek said in frustration.

“Well, stop. Just listen to the music, and let your body do whatever it wants.”

Derek closed his eyes, and tried to stop thinking about his movements. He found his body would mostly move on its own if he stopped trying to control it.

“Much better!” Stiles shouted. He pushed himself up against Derek so their arms touched whenever either of them moved.

Derek wrapped his arms around Stiles’s midsection, hands resting on the small of his back.

“I could get used to this,” Stiles said, adjusting so that they were swaying at the same pace.

“Me too,” Derek smiled.

They stayed there for several more minutes before the music adjusted to something Derek imagined was elvish.

“I think I prefer this music,” Derek said, sliding one of his hands down onto Stiles’s backside.

Stiles pulled away abruptly.

Derek froze in fear. “I’m sorry. If that was too fast, I can totally--”

“No, no no!” Stiles shouted, kissing him and cupping his ass in his hands. “Totally fine! See!”

Relief worked its way through Derek’s body. “Then what happened?”

“What if it’s a joke? A prank?”

“Stiles, I promise. I’m not messing with you,” Derek said over the crash indicating dwarf feet were visible in the ceiling.

“No, I know. Well, I mean, the thought crossed my mind, but I know even you can’t be that much of an asshole.” Stiles moved his body back up against Derek’s. “What if this whole time loop thing is just a prank? I mean, you would have to be beyond stupid to attack this crowd. There’s a veritable army here right now.” 

Two successive crashes punctuated his point.

“So you’re thinking that someone is just playing a joke on all of us?” Derek shrugged. “It doesn’t seem that far-fetched.”

“There are plenty of non-human magic users here who are capable of it, too. And a time loop at a party does seem like frat magic 101.”

“Regardless,” Derek said. “We should still be careful when we confront them. Just in case.”

Stiles nodded. “I’ll keep warding the house, just in--”

“Hey! No fair!” someone shouted as a weretiger darted from the back of the Hale house and disappeared into the woods. 

Derek got out of the car and ambled up the steps and into the house. He stumbled to a stop in the entryway. Stiles was walking down the steps, multicolored lights shining on his skin, a giant grin plastered across his face. Derek felt that smile warm him from across the room, like the first rays of sunlight on a winter morning.

“Just a second,” Stiles said as he ran past Derek and out the front door. 

“The ward’s back up. And, it feels like there’ll only be one more reset.” He said as he sauntered back in. He gave Derek a once-over. “Hey, Sourwolf. You okay?”

“What do you mean?” Derek asked.

Stiles pointed at his face. “That smile. Didn’t even know you could do that. Did you win the lottery or something?”

“Yeah, I kind of did,” Derek said as a loud belch drowned out all the sound in the room.

“What’d you say?” Stiles asked.

Derek shook his head and averted his eyes.

“Oh my god, you totally said you did, didn’t you?” Stiles asked excitedly. “Derek Hale is secretly a sappy romantic. Holy shit.”

Derek hadn’t realized how tense he had been until his whole body relaxed as Stiles pressed their bodies together leaning in for a kiss. It was quick and landed on the corner of his mouth, but Derek found himself thanking whoever was responsible for the curse placed on the party.

“Are you going to tell everyone?” Derek asked. “I’ve put a lot of work into my current reputation.” He rested his forehead against Stiles’s.

“Are you kidding? I want this part of you all to myself.” Stiles’s body went rigid, and he pulled himself away from Derek. “Umm, that’s okay right? I don’t want to freak you out by being all, commitment and stuff. I’ve just been sitting on these feelings for a while, and…” Stiles sighed. “I guess I’m just not sure if you meant you had wanted to kiss me for a long time in an ‘I want to date you’ kinda way or in an ‘it’d be fun to fool around’ kinda way.”

“Three years and two months,” Derek said.

“What?”

“Three years and two months ago, Chris Argent told me he would kill you if he had to because of the nogitsune. I would have killed him to protect you. It didn’t matter what you had done or how dangerous the thing inside of you was. I would have ripped apart anyone that tried to end you with it.” Derek placed his hand on the back of Stiles’s neck and pulled him closer, so their foreheads were touching again. “It’s been three years and two months since I realized that I was in love with you.”

Stiles threw his arms around Derek’s neck. “I love you,” Stiles said sheepishly, pulling him into a deep kiss. They stayed that way for several minutes until Erica tapped them on the shoulder.

“Hi, guys. Anything you wanna share?”

They both pulled apart laughing.

“Not for at least one more go round of this party,” Stiles said with a smile.

Erica looked at Derek for an explanation, but he just shrugged.

“Hey, you know how this is the last guaranteed reset?” Derek asked into Stiles’s ear.

“Yeah?”

Derek picked Stiles up as a crash echoed through the living room. With the second crash, he tossed Stiles onto the bed that had fallen through the ceiling.

Stiles’s eyes went wide as Derek climbed onto the bed, straddling his hips.

“You’re positive it’s going to reset this time, right?” Derek asked.

Stiles nodded quickly, not taking his eyes off of Derek.

“Good,” Derek said as he grabbed Stiles’s shirt by the hem and pulled it over his head.

The group of people around began cheering. From somewhere in the huddle of bodies, Erica let out the loudest cheer of all.

Neither of them noticed as Derek leaned down and began planting rough kisses on Stiles’s jaw. 

Stiles closed his eyes as he leaned his head back to give easy access to his neck. Derek took the hint and began moving down the side of his neck, more bite than kiss. When he reached Stiles’s sternum, he lifted up, drawing a whine from Stiles’s mouth.

Derek pulled his own shirt over his head. Pausing, he studied Stiles’s body. He began tracing the constellations of moles on his skin. “You’re so beautiful.”

Stiles ran a hand up Derek’s stomach. “I’ve wanted this for so long. I’ve wanted to touch you like this for so long.”

Derek grabbed Stiles’s wrist and pinned his arm down next to his head. “You can wait a little longer,” he said with a hint of a growl. He leaned down, scraping his teeth against Stiles’s collarbone. He rolled his hips down causing Stiles to buck up against him.

Derek raised up and, with a warm breath, whispered in Stiles’s ear, “I am the luckiest--”

“Hey! No fair!” someone shouted as a weretiger darted from the back of the Hale house and disappeared into the woods. 

Derek jumped out of the car and ran into the house. Stiles was already at the bottom of the stairs, heading towards the kitchen. 

“You know where they are?” Derek asked, falling in stride behind him.

“Basement,” he replied without slowing down.

When they reached the basement door, Derek stepped in front of Stiles. “Just in case it’s not a joke.” 

Stiles nodded in response.

Derek placed a hand on the doorknob and looked up at him. “Ready?”

Stiles nodded sternly. “Let’s meet our resident prankster.”

Derek tried to turn the doorknob. “It’s locked,” he grumbled. Placing a hand on Stiles’s chest, he guided him back from the door. He lifted his leg and kicked next to the doorknob. A flash of light raced over the door, flooding into Derek. He was flung back into the opposite wall, where he slid into a heap on the floor.

“This is starting to piss me off,” Derek said, getting to his feet.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Stiles yelled. He knocked on the door twice and then placed all five fingertips on the doorknob. A web of white light appeared over the door, meeting at the doorknob where several strange symbols hovered.

Derek could smell the rage mixed with determination radiating off of him. 

“This is our home.” Stiles said calmly, slamming his two palms together. He intertwined his fingers and pushed into the door. “No one gets to attack us here.” 

Derek could see the bright, golden glow of Stiles’s eyes shining on the door and walls from behind him. 

“Never. Again.” Stiles ripped his hands away from one another with a grunt. There was a loud cracking noise as the web shattered like glass, falling to the floor and fading away. The symbols crackled with static before disappearing themselves.

“I don’t care if it’s a prank,” Stiles said. He waved his hand, and the door swung open of its own accord. “Attacking you is too far.” He descended the steps into the basement without so much as a glance behind him. The air rippled around his body.

Derek trailed behind, making sure to stay back enough to avoid the raw magic radiating off of Stiles.

In the center of the basement, a large sphere made of overlapping metal rings hovered a few feet off the floor. A bright multicolored glow from the center illuminated the room. The constant spinning of the metal rings eclipsed different parts of the glow, creating an effect reminiscent of a strobe light. On the other side, a tall shadow stood behind a rack of hanging chains.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Stiles said angrily. The air around him calmed, and the glow faded from his eyes. “Daceilo, what the hell?”

With a rattle of the chains, a lanky fairy stepped around the rack. The rapidly changing lighting of the room added a deviousness to the scowl plastered across his face. He began chanting and lifted his hand towards the sphere.

Stiles circled two fingers in a figure eight pattern and jerked them upwards. Across the room, a braid of thin, red light appeared around the fairy’s wrists, locking his hands together and raising them above his head.

“Tell me how to stop it,” Stiles said.

The fairy stared at the pair of them silently, venom in his eyes.

Stiles squared his shoulders, visibly angry. “You saw what I did in the battle. You know what I’m capable of. You do not want to screw with us.”

Daceilo spat at his feet and mumbled a fairy curse at him.

Electricity crackled around one of Stiles’s hands as he clenched it into a fist.

Derek took a step forward and placed a hand on Stiles’s shoulder. In response to the touch, Stiles’s shoulders fell, and his hand relaxed.

Calmly, Derek asked, “Why, Daceilo?”

Daceilo made an undignified grunt. “It’s what you deserve. What your whole pack deserves.”

Stiles fist clenched again. “What is that supposed to mean?” he yelled.

Derek took his hand, giving it a light squeeze. He shot Stiles a look, communicating exclusively with his eyebrows..

Stiles let out a huff of air. “Dude,” he said, voice even-keeled. “We were friends. Yesterday morning we were friends. You and everyone at this party. What happened?”

“I am friends with no creature on these grounds. Anyone here tonight has declared me their enemy,” he spat.

Stiles looked at Derek, shaking his head in exasperation.

Derek’s eyes lit up with an idea. “Daceilo, why didn’t you come to the party earlier?”

Daceilo struggled against his restraints. “How dare you mock an assault on my honor!”

“What are you even--” Stiles cut himself off mid-tirade. “Wait a minute.” His eyes grew wide, and his mouth opened in surprise. “Oh my god, you are so dramatic.” He swiped his hands to the side, and the fairy’s restraints dissolved into the air. “Did you really decide the best course of action was to lock the entire party in a time loop because you thought you weren’t invited?”

Daceilo rubbed his wrists tenderly. “I was instrumental in the prevention of the catastrophe, and I am the only being not summoned for the celebration. You have wounded me greatly, and it shall not go undisciplined.”

Stiles rolled his eyes. “Give me two seconds. I’ll be right back,” he said to Derek as he turned and bolted up the stairs.

The fairy’s eyes grew wide in fear, realization kicking in. “He has gone to gather the others,” he said, sinking to the floor. “I won’t live to see dawn.”

Derek approached Daceilo, and sat in front of him on the floor. “No. Stiles wouldn’t do that. While what you did was dangerous and cruel, he would never. Starting a blood feud between you and virtually every other supernatural tribe in existence would be excessive given that this is all just a misunderstanding.” Derek tried to smile reassuringly. “Stiles just wants peace for five minutes.”

Stiles came barreling back into the basement, feet thumping on the stairs. In his hand was a pale stick, about a foot long and stripped of its bark. He offered it to Daceilo. “I invited you the way you showed me to contact you.”

Daceilo took the stick, and lines trailed across its smooth surface in swirling patterns until they revealed a message.

_Celebration at the Hale pack’s home. Tomorrow night. 7:00pm._

“If I did it wrong, I’m genuinely sorry,” Stiles said. “We wanted you to be here too. You deserve to be here too.”

Daceilo pulled his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them. “I have made a terrible mistake.”

“That’s okay. We all make mistakes,” Derek said. “We forgive you. We just need to know how to stop all of this.”

Daceilo nodded. Standing he opened his arms to the sphere. The light faded, and the spinning rings folded in on themselves until they were able to fit into his palm. “I will spend the rest of my life repaying the debt I have brought upon myself.”

“There is no debt,” Stiles said. “You could just come upstairs and enjoy the party. If you want.”

“I would enjoy that immensely.” He gave a weak smile.

Together, they walked upstairs and into the kitchen. Daceilo’s smile gradually grew as the people in the kitchen all greeted him excitedly.

Stiles hopped up onto the counter next to Derek and laid his head on his shoulder.

“You’re a good man,” Derek said. “Slightly frightening when you’re angry, but good.”

“Oh, please. You’ve never been afraid of me in your life,” Stiles replied snarkily.

“True.” Derek wrapped an arm around his waist. “Granted, by the time I realized how much of a threat you could actually be, I already trusted you. Peter figured it out pretty fast though”

Stiles lifted his head and cocked an eyebrow at Derek. “Are you trying to butter me up for something?”

Derek shook his head. “Just catching up on all the things I couldn’t say before.” A smile pulled at his lips, which he didn’t fight. “Might take me awhile. I’ve been stocking up on them for a few years.”

Stiles bumped his shoulder against Derek’s. “I love you, sourwolf.”

“Love you, too,” Derek said, pressing a kiss to Stiles’s temple.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! You can find me on Tumblr at [ scornedmedea ](https://scornedmedea.tumblr.com/)


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